


Endless Road

by Ottermouse



Series: Sheith Week 2016 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Sheith Week 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 06:38:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8361313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ottermouse/pseuds/Ottermouse
Summary: Keith the year Shiro was gone





	

**Author's Note:**

> For Sheith week day 2: Together/alone  
> This fic took up 11 pages in my notebook I have no idea how it got so long. I'm sure this has been done before, but I hope y'all enjoy it c:  
> Thanks for the beta lordzuuko ;))

“How long will you be gone?”

“Shouldn’t be more than a few weeks.”

Keith and Shiro were lying down on the grass hill overlooking the Garrison. Shiro would be leaving the next day for his first mission, but rather than sleep early, he came out to hang out with his friend one more time.

“We’re just collecting some samples, it’s not _that_ dangerous.”

Keith looked up at the stars. Shiro would be headed towards one of them tomorrow. Hopefully in a few years Keith would be able to join him. The professors at the academy were already saying that he was a prodigy. He couldn’t help but smile, he _did_ have the best mentor, after all.

Shiro turned to the other. “You gonna miss me?”

Keith took his hand and squeezed it. Warmth spread from his fingers up his arm, causing him to shiver slightly.

They used to do this when they were kids. They’d lay and gaze out at the twinkling lights emitting from the Garrison, making up stories about what they’d do once they were old enough to attend. Keith was smaller, skinnier, and would get cold faster, so they would hold hands on the way back as a means of warmth and also so they wouldn’t lose each other in the dark. Even after Shiro was accepted, and after he graduated, they would spend nights on this hill.

“Of course I’ll miss you,” Keith replied. “Who’s gonna remind me to do my laundry when you’re gone?”

Shiro elbowed him in the side and they both began laughing uncontrollably.

“I’m gonna miss you, too,” the older boy said once they were able to catch their breath. “Not gonna miss your dirty socks, though. I mean seriously, people would think you walked through mud puddles all the time.”

Keith opened his mouth, but found that he had nothing to could say in retaliation. “Yeah, you got me there.”

They laid in silence once more, watching the stars and the lights of passing planes and ships and other vehicles.

Shiro stretched his arms above his head and sat up. “We should head back.” He stood up and extended his arm to the other boy. He pulled Keith onto his feet. As he got up Keith lost his balance slightly and took a step forward, bumping into Shiro’s chest.

“S– sor…” his voice trailed off as he looked up into his best friend’s face.

Shiro was _gorgeous_ , everything about him dripping with strength and power, but also gentleness and a genuine concern for others. He was popular, and everyone loved him. Yet, he still chose to hang out with Keith. The nobody.

He could say it, he realized. This was the perfect time. If he told Shiro now, this mission was something that could help him sort out his feelings, whether the answer was affirmative or not.

_I like you._

Three short words. They could roll off his tongue. He could say them… anytime now… they were alone and in the dark, this was the best place. If only he could–

“Keith,” he felt Shiro’s warm breath on his face. A hand came up and curved itself around his cheek.

It was too much for his heart to handle, and he ripped away from Shiro, severing eye contact.

“Sorry,” he finished what he had been trying to say earlier.

“It’s alright.” Was it just him or did Shiro sound… sad? Well, it was too late to take it back, the moment was gone. He’d ruined it.

They walked back to the academy barracks together in silence. At the door, Shiro placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder and turned so that they were facing one another.

“Don’t get into too much trouble when I’m gone.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Keith mumbled.

“I’m serious, man.” Shiro hugged the younger boy close and tight. “I really am going to miss you.”

Keith hugged him back. “I know.”

The two separated.

“Stay in school. Don’t be a stranger.”

“Geez, Shiro. You make it sound like my world would fall apart without you. I’m my own person, too, you know.”

“I’m sorry, I just– I should head back. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay.” Keith watched the form of his best friend walk into the darkness and out of sight.

THREE MONTHS LATER

Shiro had been wrong. They didn’t get to see each other again soon.

But then again, Keith had been wrong as well. Without Shiro, he didn’t know what to do.

“He’s _out_ there, stop lying!” he yelled at a group of annoyed guards and the impatient Garrison principal. “He’s the best pilot to have ever graduated from this school, do you really think he’d make a rookie mistake?!”

One of the staff rubbed his forehead. “Kogane, we’ve talked about this. People make errors all the time–”

“ _Not! Shiro!_ He’s flown thousands of crafts out of simulation. Stop trying to hide the truth, _why aren’t you looking for him?!_ ” Keith was banging his fists on the office desk in front of him, trying to hold back enough to not take it in his hands and flip it over.

“You _know_ we don’t have the kind of funds and resources for a long term search. Pluto is the farthest–”

“ _STOP LYING YOU SON OF A BITCH!”_ Keith couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed the principal by his tie and wound his arm back in preparation for a bunch, when he felt the strong arms of the security guards rip him away.

“That is _enough_ , Kogane! I’ve tried to be patient with you because you are one of our best prospective students, but I have already given you _plenty_ of warning, and now attempted assault? Young man, you are expelled from this academy and are never to set foot in it again, you understand?! Pack your bags and leave immediately.”

Keith tried to shake himself free of the guards’ grips. “Fine! I never liked this place anyway, fuck you!”

One guard dragged him out of the office and down toward the dorms. “Where’s your room?” he demanded

Keith begrudgingly told him and was roughly yanked the rest of the way there before being nearly slammed into his door.

“Pack up. Be fast.”

The guard, thankfully, waited outside.

Keith began haphazardly tossing everything into his bags and suitcase, nearly breaking a few things, but he didn’t care. He didn’t have a lot of personal items, anyway. Growing up in an orphanage made sure of that.

The last few items he packed were things that had laid in the back of his closet for awhile, forgotten. He threw many of them into his bags without thinking, until his hand wrapped around a familiar soft fabric. He pulled it out and uncrumpled it. His breath caught in his throat and he had the sudden urge to cry.

It was Shiro’s old Garrison hoodie. The one he thought he’d lost and bought another to replace. It had been here all along. Probably got mixed up in the laundry or something. They had constantly been staying over at each other’s rooms, after all.

Keith buried his face in the clothing and took in a deep breath. The tears were really threatening to start falling now.

It still smelled like him.

And suddenly the reality of what had just happened hit Keith. The weight of being expelled slamming into him at full force.

Without the Garrison, where would he go? What would he do? He pressed his face into the hoodie, gripping it tightly in his hands.

 _What do I do, Shiro? What do I_ do _? I just wanted to find you and now I’ve fucked everything up._

And like a phantom limb, he felt a hand press down on his shoulder and a voice in his head say:

_Follow your instincts._

FIVE MONTHS LATER

Keith dropped his backpack of supplies on the floor as soon as he stepped into his home.

It was more of a shack, really, but it had been extremely cheap and was out in the middle of nowhere, meaning no one would bother him.

He peeled off his shirt and used it to wipe the sweat off his face. He tossed it onto the pile of dirty clothes in the corner before reaching into his bag and pulling out his notebook. He ripped a few sketches out of it, pulling tacks out of the board on the wall before pinning them up. He stepped back and looked at them.

Ever since he’d discovered the cave in the canyon, he’d been spending nearly everyday out there, mapping out the area and copying all the cave drawings he’d come across. He didn’t know what they could mean, but he could feel in his gut that it was something important.

He took a quick shower using water from the rain collectors. He threw on a loose pair of pants and cooked up a small dinner. Checking his cupboards he sighed, he’d have to stock up again soon. He usually got his canned goods from an old widower who lived in his own small home a few miles away. In exchange he would do repair work for him.

It was a quiet, repetitive life, but it was what Keith felt like he needed. Without the Garrison, without Shiro, he felt lost and struggled to find a purpose within himself. At least now he had something to focus all of his energy on.

Finding out what on earth this blue lion was.

THREE MONTHS LATER

Shiro was back.

Unconscious, but back. His one room shack was full with people he barely knew, and he didn’t know for how long he’d be able to feed them all for. He barely had enough blankets for the night, and he’d have to rearrange much of the furniture in order to create enough floor space for them all to sleep on.

Even with all those inconveniences, he didn’t mind as much as he would have. Because Shiro was back.

* * *

Keith helped his best friend take a shower the next morning when he woke up. He was still disoriented from his crash and subsequent drugging. He let Shiro concentrate on not falling over while he wiped him down. The rags he’d been wearing the previous night were thrown away, and Keith brought down from a high shelf a box of Shiro’s old clothes. Some were ones that he’d found amongst his own clothing, others he’d received from Shiro’s parents when he had stopped by their home and asked if they were willing to part with any of his old things. He let Shiro choose what to wear as the others put away all the blankets, repositioned the furniture, and Hunk made breakfast for all of them.

Keith found himself being protective of Shiro, feeding him slowly to make sure he wouldn’t get a stomach ache. He told his friend as much as he felt safe to tell of what had happened while he was gone, taking care not to go too fast lest Shiro go into shock.

They spent the rest of the day learning about Voltron and what Shiro recalled from his time in captivity. They helped Hunk make his detector, ate dinner, prepared for the next day, and went to bed early.

“Keith,” Shiro placed his arm on his best friend’s shoulder. “You should take your bed tonight, I’m fine on the floor.”

“What, no!” Keith exclaimed, horrified. Everyone was spreading their blankets on the floor and settling in. “You’ve been through so much the least you deserve is to sleep comfortably.”

“Keith, it's _your_ bed, I don’t want to intrude–”

“Shiro, I brought you here, you’re always welcome.”

The older man glanced over at the bed. “Then why don’t we just share? Like we used to.”

“Alright,” he mumbled, climbing into his bed after Shiro.

He lay on his back next to the other, staring up at the ceiling and heart pounding. The two barely fit on the mattress, especially since it looked like Shiro had built up more muscles and was bulkier.

“Keith…” he heard the voice whisper in his ear. “I know you can’t sleep when you’re on your back. Come on, like we used to.”

Keith was grateful for the clouds covering the moon, for he could feel his face turn a deep tomato red color.He turned onto his side, and buried his face into Shiro’s chest, one hand gently stroking Shiro’s harm, body pressed flush against the other’s.

_I could say it. After all this time, I could say it. Right now._

I love you.

“Shiro,” he started before he could lose his courage.

“Hmm?”

“I...I missed you. I missed this. I missed _us_. I missed it all so much. You being back, it means more to me than anything.” It wasn’t what he had planned on saying, but it was a start. Plus, there was a chance one of the other boys was still awake and listening.

Shiro wrapped an arm around Keith’s waist and gave him a gentle kiss to the top of his head.

“I missed you, too.”


End file.
